Antirachitic product and process



,tion.

PATENT OFFICE ANTIRACHITIC PRODUCT .AND PROCESS Harry Steenbock, Madison, Wis., assignor to Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, a corporation of Wisconsin No Drawing. Application May 14, 1932,

Serial No. 611,444

4 Claims. (CI. 99-13) tion is based is that yeast, which is a fungus, is

capable of being antirachitically activated by means of ultra-violet rays. 7

The activation may be accomplished in any suitable manner. Preferably, the yeast is spread in a thin layer and subjected to the action of light containing the ultra-violet rays until activation is accomplished in a suflicient degree to give to' the product the desired degree of antirachitic potency.

As an example, the yeast may be spread in a thin film, say one-eighth of an inch thick, or thinner, and exposed to the action of the rays of a Cooper-Hewitt quartz mercury vapor lamp, type B Y for twenty to thirty minutes, the lamp being disposed at a suitable distance from the film of yeast. A distance of about two feet is satisfactory, but this may be varied. Such a lamp ordinarily will have an are initially of about one and one-half inches and later of about three inches, when operated by a current of about 4 ,amperes at about 48 volts, which is suitable for the purpose.

If desired, the yeast may be carried in a thin film on a conveyor, and exposed to the action of a series of lamps,

Thelength of time of exposure to the rays'may vary greatly, depending upon the volume of the product being treated, the manner in which it is exposed, the intensity of the light, and the distance of the material from the light. Quartz permits the passage of ultra violet rays quite readily. If the rays are required to pass through other material before impinging upon the material to be treated, this may operate to requir an increased period of exposure. The light employed may come from any suitcarbon arc lamps may beemployed, if desired.

Yeast is rich'in unsaponiflable lipoids partly in free condition and partly in combined condi- It is readily and very quickly activated when spread in thin condition; and because of the fact that yeast is rich in activatable substances, a high degree of antirachitic potency may be imparted, even by relatively mild irradiation with light containing ultra-violet rays. Where the strength of such light is reduced, the period of activation, to reach a given potency, must be correspondingly lengthened. As is known, yeast is a fungus, and it may be taken as an example of such substances.

I have discovered that over-exposure of certain substances to the action of light may result in injuring palatability, or in weakening ordestroying the antirachitic factor after it has been produced. Oils, for example, may have the antirachitic factor destroyed by over-exposure. For illustration, olive oil may be activated by treatment of the character set forth above, practiced for a period of from several minutes to an hour or more, but it has been found that if treatment is continued for a period of about seventeen hours, under theintensity of the application of the rays set forth above, the antirachitic wacor will be destroyed.

In the case of the fungi, very strong antirachitic activation can be effected, especially where artificially produced ultra-violet rays are employed, within a very short period. Depending upon the intensity of the light and its distance from the material being treated, suitable activation can be obtained in a few minutes. 'On the other hand, activation of the yeast for a period of one or two hours will not perceptibly injure the antirachitic factor or the palatability.

Any suitable method of rendering thin, dispersed, or in spread-out condition, of the fungus material to be treated may be employed. In some instancea lt may be desirable to disperse the fungus material in a comminuted form, in a fluid menstruum. That ispthe material may be exposed to the action of light while held in suspension, or solution, in asuitable liquid. In such condition, the solution, or the fluid containing the material in'suspension may be passed in a thin film through rays emanating from a series of quartz mercury vapor lamps, for example, the intensity, distance, and time of exposure being regulated to produce the desired result. able source. It is preferred to employ artificially produced ultra-violet rays, but it is not desired to limit the invention thereto. Thelight from construed as broadly permissible, in view of the prior art.

What I regard as new, and desire secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The'process of producing an antirachitlcally activated product which comprises: subjecting yeast to the action of light comprising ultra-violet rays for a period suiiicient to eflect substantial antirachitic activation of the yeast.

2. The process or producing an antirachitically activated product which comprises: subjecting yeast to the action of light comprising ultra-violet rays for a period sufficient to eiIect substantial antirachitic activation of the yeast, but so limited as to avoid subsequent substantial injury to the antirachitic principle.

3. Antirachitically activated yeast which has been rendered antirachitically active by treatment with light rich in ultra-violet rays.

4. A process which comprises antirachitically activating yeast by subjecting it to the action of artificially produced ultra-violet rays for a period suflicient to render said yeast antirachitically active.

HARRY STEENBOCK. 

